Right before new years I got to be part of a private party. It was from a family I djed before at a different venue and they wanted to celebrate different events since everyone was locked down for so long. Miss L gave me a good list to work with. She had a lot of songs she grew up listening to plus she had different family members share their list with her. It was a mix of old school and good dance music. We traveled from the 50s sock hop era with stops with 70s classic rock, and 90s dance. 

 The event was at the Double Tree at the Pruneyard in Campbell. They had a banquet room on the second floor. They had around 7 tables and there were under 30 folks in attendance. There was a dance floor there. It was cute since the staff wanted to put a table on the dance floor for appetizers and Miss L was not going to have it. She was like we are going to dance the whole night so please move the table elsewhere. She was right. Dancing was happening the whole night. Double Tree even had my silverware ready on my table but I did not have a chance to eat since there was always someone dancing. Typically, you play music with low to medium energy during dinner time but we were putting up the energy in high gear. 

  Venue space was nice and staff was very courtesy. Guests were polite and loved to dance. It was a good night!

I was all over the bay area for 3 holiday corporate events. Saturday we were doing a big internet company bash in Morgan hill. This is the 3rd event I have for the group. They gave me a lot of songs in their playlist of their liking. Mama mia served up a master meal. A few of the leaders spoke about achievements and talked about folks they wanted to hi light. We finished up the night on the dance floor.

The following day we were doing a corporate event in Fremont which was primarily Spanish music. This was the first corporate event where most of the music was Spanish. I started the event with a little xmas music then 15 min in when folks started showing up I then went with Spanish. I did throw in some old school classics in English. The boss was a young man and his assistant were running the events. They were running games for their employees for nice prizes. Later on they did a raffle and gave out prizes. The songs that got everyone grooving was cumbia and salsa.

Then on Thursday we had a real estate party. They know how to party and they did it on a weekday. It was at their office and they were very happy folks. It was supposed to be a 3 hour event but it was extended to an extra hour. It was all old school and r&b the whole night, No new music the past 5 years was played. There were no announcements and the theme was just to eat drink and be merry. All of them succeeded!

After being shut down from any dances for a year and a half, high schoolers have been itching to dance. One of the main questions I had would songs from 2020 and 2021 be popular or would students be leaning toward the old school. Platforms like Tic Tok have brought back old school for the youngsters. Songs that you wouldn’t think students would know are songs students know the lyrics to. Have I seen any a change from pre covid events to current at the High School dance floors?

What hasn’t changed is the students take a while to warm up. Knowing this I have saved the beginning of the dance for the new and old pop songs that everyone knows. It’s not to get anybody dancing yet since I believe in saving the dessert for the packed dancefloor. At this time people are coming to the dance and seeing what is happening. At the events I did most students were either going to the food trucks or taking photos at the photo booth.

Some folks think the line dance is way cliché but it always works. The ones that the students really liked were the Cupid Shuffle and going old school with the YMCA. Those songs worked for all the 4 dances. Everyone was loving Miley Cyrus with Party in the USA and Justin Bieber’s Baby. Speaking of songs that students like to sing along to Taylor Swift was like magic with the students. Pitbull had a few hits on the student dancefloor with Tonight with Ne-yo and Fireball. I did notice Calvin Harris hits such as We Found Love and Feels so Close got everyone bouncing up and down. 

Powered By Scotland Clothing LLC >>

 Homecoming at Lincoln was in the middle of the quad. They had an old school van as a photoboth and food trucks. They shared with me a diverse playlist. I started the night to work on the older tracks first. I have to be aware of not using all the good danceable songs so quickly. 

Students at Lincoln were ready to dance. They were really into Spanish music. It was nice to see everyone get into the Spanish music. 

The Songs that stuck out for Lincoln:

It seems like 2010 music is getting a jolt of life such as songs like Disturbia by Rihanna, Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO, Feel So Close by Calvin Harris, Give me Tonight by Pitbull and Ne-yo. But the staple of high school music is classic hip hop from the past 7 years. Students were loving Sage the Gemini with Gas Pedal and Red Nose. Saweetie was a hit with MY Type. Travis Scott has a few hits and brought folks to the dance floor with Bring it Back and Ayy Ladies. But one of the songs of the night had to be Crank Thank by Soulja Boy. Some newer hip hop songs that students really liked were Magnolia and Shoota by Playboi Carti. Also a few artists seem to do well with high school. Taylor Swift, Justin Beiber, and Miley Cyrus got some oohh and aahhs. 

Overall it was a good energy dance. My favorite sighting was students were really loving the Spanish music and no one came storming to the dj booth asking to change the song but made the most of it by dancing. 

Homecoming at Kings Academy

This is the first time I am doing a dance right after a football game. The dance starts at 9 and will finish close to midnight. I had a list of over 300 songs. A lot of the songs were very good dance music. These were the songs I can use for the event and could not stray from the list. It does have a feel good vibe with the music. 

 I was underneath a huge tent and my power was close by. I was able to set up my big boy speakers and lights in an hour time. It did take some more time since I had to take my gear through a few gates from my car. 

 I loved the positive energy. Once I was set up a girl from the leadership team asked if I needed a drink or snacks. Then she came up again and asked if I was ok. That was awesome!!!

At the end of the night I got assistance in putting my gear away which was a big help.

At the beginning of the dance I knew it would be different. At the start, students were at the front and cheering in all the students that came in. Imagine hearing the applause when you walked in! Some students would run in. Some of the artists that were on the list were Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. The list itself was preapproved so the content was student appropriate. I did notice they would like to bounce with the cool house/edm songs.

Overall a fabulous night with Kings Academy. These students were ready to dance and they had the positive vibe!

 Dances are back in 2021 after a year of not having any. Students are ready to party. Be prepared to have bigger turnouts than pre 2019 since people are really wanting to let loose.

Due to the weather the dance was up in the air. They had to wait for the weather then admin to approve it. But we ended up having it. Since everything was up in the air asb did not send me a song list. Usually asb gives me 60 to 100 songs of their liking then I add another 40 to 50 more based on what they gave me. I didn’t get any of their likes so I had to come up with my own list.

At the dance there was a long line with the photo booth. The dance started at 7 and went till 1000. It seemed like folks were shy then they broke out of their shell. 

Songs that were big hits that night:

We Found Love

Give Me Everything Tonight

Love Sosa

Gas Pedal

Act Up

Shake the Monkey

Party in the USA

MY Type

Big Bank

Danza Kuduro

Best friend

Turn Down for What

 Blinding Lights

Cha Cha Slide

Cupid Shuffle

Yes, I do play line dances. Some djs think they are dumb to do but I don’t mind doing them since people like to do dances that have moves that go with them. I went hard at 815 till the last song of the night at 1000 since I didn’t want dance floor to give way. There were a lot of students there and they enjoyed the Spanish songs that we played and it definitely fed the energy in the crowd.

One of the best outside venues in the Gilroy area is Fortino Winery.  I do like the fact that the space is so open and it was outside. I also liked I could bring my 12 inch speakers and it can be heard at the other end with ease. One does not need tons of speakers to be efficient at Fortino Winery. Its also a cool place since they have a big open space and another space to hold events in case one needs a plan b. They can easily hold two events at the same time and even wanted to can hold another outside event at the tables by the front parking.  I had the pleasure to play there this past weekend. It was a school staff event and it was a good time. The music theme was simple and it was just old school. 70s 80s and 90s. Again the food was top notch. They also had a photo booth which was fun for the folks.

The following day was my birthday. Pre covid I would opt to not work my birthday. But this party had the makings of something special. I heard the playlist that consisted of Spanish classics and 80s music. I am a sucker for the classics and I felt I needed to be at this party. The hostess gave me a lot of artists such as Thalia, Alejandro Fernandez, Paulina Rubio to set a good vibe. I have to vote for South County as one of the best places to have a residence event. We had the volume at a good amount and we didn’t have to worry about neighbors complain about the sound.